"Reporting — T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer, ship ST04: star-shield broken, hull grievously damaged, the starship can fight no longer.
"Salvage is at present in hand!" Her adjutant reported it to the angel Tilia in haste.
The angel Tilia looked at that T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer still burning within the picture.
At this she felt no surprise whatever.
To deal with this quasi-T6 Destroyer-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship, some price must assuredly be paid.
And by word that came before, the Machine Race's T5 Imperial-Steel-Fist-class Heavy Interstellar Battleships were destroyed outright under a single shot of the Destroyer's bow cannon.
Where the T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer has only lost her capacity to fight; and should she have the fortune to hold out to the war's end, there is the possibility yet of going back to port for repair.
From which one may see how excellent this interstellar destroyer out of the Owl Dragon is.
"Carry out the angels' hunting plan." The angel Tilia, seeing the game had taken the hook, gave the order without hesitating.
The order went through the whole Holy Dragon Angel Legion.
The remaining nine T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyers that had meant to encircle the quasi-T6 Destroyer quickened of a sudden, and pressed close upon her.
Nine quarters — for all the world like nine fetters holding this beast in check.
And at the same time.
Within the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's position, the missile apparatus of a T4 Hell-Angel-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship opened entire, and thereafter missile after missile went sweeping outward like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers.
The mark of these missiles was not the quasi-T6 Destroyer-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship.
But the field where the thirty T5 warships that had entered the fighting before now stood.
Upon the firepower of these missiles supporting them, the pressure upon those thirty T5 warships to their front slackened, and they began at once to draw out of the field at full speed.
And those Demon Race warships, held down a while by the missiles, seeing the mark they were charged with delaying attempt to withdraw.
Would of course by no means lightly let them go, and made ready at once to tangle with them again.
At this time the Holy Dragon Angel Legion's fleet, long since made ready, took no heed of the enemy's fire, but rushed forward and tangled up the Demon Race warships, and grudged not even some casualties among their own fleet, that they might win room for the withdrawing T5 warships.
While those T5 warships, taking no heed of anything, charged at full speed toward that far-off field where the quasi-T6 Destroyer stood.
Along the road the Demon Race warships all sought to intercept them, and the Holy Dragon Angel Legion, taking no heed of anything, protected the T5 warships' passage.
As these thirty T5 warships drew nearer and nearer.
That quasi-T6 Destroyer-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship marked their purpose besides.
She made ready at once to withdraw.
But at this time the bridge of this quasi-T6 Destroyer found that this warship could not, of all things, stir?
"What is this?
"Why can we no longer move!" the demon captain roared.
"This is bad — we have taken the interference of the enemy's tractor beams.
"From the enemy's nine T5 Chaos-Knights; we simply cannot move!" his adjutant said in his strain.
And only then did they call it to mind.
That this T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer of the Owl Dragon Legion's is indeed fitted with that technology.
"Attack these T5 Chaos-Knights for me, and order the demon fleets about us to intercept those T5 warships at whatever price — and attack these T5 Chaos-Knights for me besides!" the demon captain cried in some anxiety.
He had supposed himself the side that held the whole board.
And only now did he find that it was he who had fallen into the enemy's trap.
Five minutes later.
The quasi-T6 Destroyer's bow cannon completed its charging once more, and its muzzle locked upon a T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer.
Facing the lock of the enemy's bow cannon, this T5 Chaos-Knight made not the least movement of evasion.
But faced the enemy's attack head on.
And in the end her star-shield was blasted apart, an explosion took her chiefly at the bow, and the whole warship was destroyed, and lost her power to fight and to move.
"Reporting — T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyer, ship ST08, struck at the bow; the starship has lost her capacity to fight, communication is broken, the crew have abandoned ship, the number of survivors unknown," her adjutant reported to the angel Tilia.
"At whatever price, hold this creature fast!" The angel Tilia kept her eyes fixed hard upon that quasi-T6 Destroyer within the interstellar sand-table.
Of the thirty T5 warships ordered up in support, five had already been tangled with by Demon Race fleets and could hardly break out again.
And so, making the best of the error, they fought where they stood, and by that drew the enemy's fire and held the enemy in check for their friendly ships.
Five minutes more, and another T5 Chaos-Knight was destroyed.
The seven T5 Chaos-Knights remaining must bear not only the attack of the quasi-T6 Destroyer's conventional firepower, but the attacks besides of the Demon Race warships about them.
One T5 Chaos-Knight's star-shield was already at the last, and yet she would not draw out of her fighting station.
Once the star-shield be destroyed, this T5 Chaos-Knight's fate may be imagined.
Those Demon Race warships about her, like so many starving wolves, would tear her outright into four pieces and five.
And very soon, her star-shield destroyed, this T5 Chaos-Knight's hull took attacks in dense array, and was blasted outright into a thousand holes and a hundred wounds.
And thereupon another shot of the quasi-T6 Destroyer's bow cannon carried off another T5 Chaos-Knight.
At this moment there were but five T5 Chaos-Knights left holding this quasi-T6 Destroyer in check.
But now the tractor beams of five T5 Chaos-Knights could no longer keep this quasi-T6 Destroyer bound where she stood, and the quasi-T6 Destroyer began to withdraw rearward at a slow speed.
"These cursed creatures are hard to be rid of indeed.
"Go on — destroy them all for me!" the demon captain roared in his anger.
"This is bad — three T5 Lightning-Wraith-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Cruisers are about to enter our compass of battle."
"Three minutes from now, ten T5 Chaos-Knight-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Destroyers and three T5 Lightning-Wraith-class Heavy Assault Interstellar Cruisers will have formed an encirclement about us!"
Hearing this evil news.
The demon captain's face went ashen.
Some minutes later.
The angel Tilia, her two eyes shot with blood, stared at the interstellar sand-table, at that quasi-T6 Destroyer-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship now ringed in the middle by a dozen and more T5 warships of her own.
She said coldly, "Now let us see where you run to!"